The Oklahoma City Thunder wrap up a 3-game road trip with a matchup against the Knicks in New York on Wednesday night. The game is the second half of a back-to-back for both teams, and both the Thunder and the Knicks are coming off wins.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Hartenstein both missed last night’s game due to injury management, but they should be back in the lineup tonight as OKC continues to work towards full health. Meanwhile, the Knicks are probably one of the healthier squads in the league.
OKC maintains its top spot in the West with a 48-15 record and a 3-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs, while the Knicks sit at 40-22, good for third in the East. That puts them just 1.5 games behind the Boston Celtics for 2nd, but 6 games out of first behind the Detroit Pistons.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson are two of the league’s most exciting players, so seeing them go head-to-head should make for a fun night, not to mention the depth that both teams have. Regardless of who steps onto the court at MSG, exciting basketball is destined to be played there, and that should be the case as these two heavyweights do battle.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 6 PM CT
Location: Madison Square Garden (New York City, New York)
Television: ESPN
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, New York Knicks Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Knicks
- PG: Jalen Brunson
- SG: Mikal Bridges
- SF: Josh Hart
- PF: OG Anunoby
- C: Karl-Anthony Towns
Injury Report
Thunder
- Branden Carlson (strained lower back) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (strained abdominal injury management) is PROBABLE.
- Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus injury management) is PROBABLE.
- Ajay Mitchell (strained abdominal; sprained left ankle) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (G League — on assignment) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (strained right hamstring) is OUT.
Knicks
- Pacome Dadiet (G League — on assignment) is OUT.
- Trey Jemison III (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Dillon Jones (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Miles McBride (pelvic core muscle surgery) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 24-7 against the Knicks (12-3 at home, 12-4 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder have won the season series against the Knicks 8 times, lost it 0 times, and tied it 9 times.
- The Thunder won the season series with the Knicks 2-0 last year (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- OKC has defeated New York in 4 straight meetings, 11 of the last 13 overall, and 7 straight at Madison Square Garden.